Anthropic’s Claude AI faces Pentagon ultimatum from US Defense Sec Pete Hegseth

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly summoned Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to the Pentagon for what officials described as a high-stakes meeting over the military’s use of the company’s AI model, Claude, Axios reported.

Citing sources, Axios said the talks are expected to be tense, with one senior Defense official calling it “not a friendly meeting” and a make-or-break moment in negotiations. Claude is currently the only AI model deployed within the military’s classified systems and is considered among the most capable tools for sensitive defence and intelligence work.

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The Defense Department and Anthropic signed a $200 million pilot contract last year, but tensions escalated after a January 9 memo from Hegseth urging AI companies to remove restrictions on their technology, prompting a renegotiation of terms.

Reuters reported earlier this month that the Pentagon was pushing major AI companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, to make their tools available on classified networks with fewer standard restrictions.

The Pentagon is frustrated with Anthropic’s refusal to fully lift safeguards. While the company has signalled openness to easing some limits, it wants to maintain restrictions on mass surveillance of Americans and the development of fully autonomous weapons.

An Anthropic spokesperson told Axios discussions are “productive” and being held “in good faith,” adding that the company is committed to supporting US national security. Defense officials, however, said negotiations have stalled and warned Anthropic could be designated a “supply chain risk”. Potentially voiding its contracts and restricting other Pentagon partners from using Claude.

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The Pentagon has also signed an agreement with Elon Musk’s AI firm xAI and is nearing a deal with Google for its Gemini model, The New York Times reported. Officials hope those agreements will pressure Anthropic to broaden access to Claude.

Axios added that Hegseth is expected to present Amodei with an ultimatum. Replacing Anthropic would be complex given its deep integration into defence systems.

Ahead of the meeting, Anthropic published a blog post alleging that three Chinese AI firms had siphoned information from the company to improve their own models.